ACURA MDX 2010-2013 Photos, engines & full specs

The Acura MDX was already a technologically advanced vehicle, but the Japanese carmaker thought it needed a refresh in 2009, after four years on the market.

Honda was still struggling to came back on its feet after the world financial crisis, when it had to cut some models from its lineup around the world, but the American car market helped it find its balance. The MDX was a top seller and, after the 2009 refresh, it became the most sold Acura on the North-American market and overtook its brother, the TL.

The MDX exterior was already known and pleasant, but Acura's design team changed its front grille to match the rest of the range. For the 2009 model, the MDX adopted a grille with a wide slat at the front instead of the two-slats style featured on the non-facelifted version. A pair of air-intakes made their way into the bottom of the spoiler. In the back, Honda installed LED taillights for its Premium compact SUV.

Inside, the MDX featured three rows of seats fitted as standard and leather-wrapped interior. The carmaker installed a rear-view camera with a small screen inside the rear-view mirror for the base model. For the upper trim levels, the image was sent to the navigation display.

But Acura added more goodies on the technical side with the introduction of a long-waited 6-speed automatic gearbox. The engine was tweaked to offer 300 hp from the 3.7-liter V6 under the hood, thanks to a higher compression ratio. On top of that, it added adaptive suspension, which improved the handling.